A Pearl of Great Price
by Awena-Sachi
Summary: This is a character analyzation of Pearl, the illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. It explores her character, symbolism, and importance to Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel.


Pearl is a very significant symbol in The Scarlet Letter. Her character helps to reinforce many themes that occur within the novel, such as sin and guilt. She is also a reminder to many, of the wrongdoings of certain people. The townspeople fear her, because of her seemingly strange nature. She changes throughout the story, both as a character and a symbol. Pearl is a vital part to the story, and is important to its message.

Pearl is the daughter of Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. She is born out of wedlock, and is shunned from the community, along with her mother. The isolation of her upbringing has caused her to act differently around other people, especially when children taunt her and her mother as they walk through the village. She would "grow positively terrible in her puny wrath snatching up stones to fling at them, with shrill, incoherent exclamations" (Hawthorne 86). Despite the negativity that surrounds her in the village, Pearl has a very close relationship with the wood, being "gentler here than in the grassy-margined streets of the settlement, or her mother's cottage" (185). She also dresses more colorfully than her mother, mostly in shades of red and gold, "looking like a wild tropical bird, of rich plumage, ready to take flight into the upper air" (101). Pearl is described as a wispy, ethereal child, bringing puzzlement to the townspeople, and her own mother. Her unusual nature only makes her more integral to the story, as a person and a symbol.

As a symbol, Pearl literally represents the scarlet letter on her mother's chest. She is "the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed with life" (Hawthorne 93). Her presence is a constant reminder to Hester, of the sin she has committed, like that of a curse. She represents an unsolved mystery, mostly due to the fact that nobody knows who her real father is, save Hester. This explains why the townspeople scorn the child, since her origins cannot be explained; things that could not be explained were considered the work of the devil. Yet, despite this, Pearl is also a blessing to Hester, saving her from doing any rash or hateful things to the community, or herself. After their visit to Governor Bellingham's house, Hester and Pearl encounter Mistress Hibbins, who is known for practicing witchcraft. She invites Hester to accompany her to the forest to meet the devil. Hester refuses Mistress Hibbins's offer, believing that "thus early… the child had saved her from Satan's snare" (107). Pearl gives Hester a reason, "to keep her struggle going" (Baym, 22), and ultimately saves her from any wrongdoings.

Pearl is both a blessing and a curse to Hester. Yet, she changes throughout the novel, both as a character, and a symbol. In the end, Pearl and Hester stand on the scaffold with Dimmesdale, who finally confesses his sin to the townspeople. Pearl accepts a kiss from him, which she has never done beforehand. This simple act changes her symbolism, making her "grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it" (Hawthorne 229). Her acceptance of Dimmesdale's kiss finally makes her "human," since she now has a known "earthly father," she is no longer an unsolved mystery. Yet, she simultaneously loses her father in the end, since Hawthorne thinks that humanity "is rooted in loss" (Baym 59), as opposed to the Puritan belief that humanity is rooted in sin. Despite the fact that some townspeople still believe her to be a demon child toward the novel's close, she finally gains her humanity, thus losing her ethereal qualities, and her father.

Pearl ties to the themes of sin and guilt. She is the direct consequence, and is a constant reminder of the adultery between Hester and Dimmesdale. Her presence also results in the guilt of her parents. Pearl also ties with the theme of shame, bringing it to Hester with her public humiliation and Dimmesdale with his internal turmoil. She is "a significant complication of the relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale… there would be no scarlet letter had there been no Pearl" (Baym 22). In short, Pearl, despite being only one of many symbols in the novel, is tied to many themes.

Pearl is an important character and symbol in The Scarlet Letter. She is an illegitimate child, and has a closer relationship with nature, than with other people. She is a living symbol of the scarlet letter, and is both a blessing and a curse to her mother, reminding Hester of her sin, yet saving her from practicing witchcraft, and other sinful things. She changes as a character, and a symbol in the end, by accepting a kiss from Dimmesdale, thus gaining and losing an earthly father, and losing any airs of mystery. She is tied to many themes in the novel, including sin, guilt, and shame. Despite being a complex character, Pearl functions as an excellent symbol to the novel, making it achieve its ever-somber message.

Sources

Baym, Nina. The Scarlet Letter: A Reading. Boston: G.K. Hall and Company, 1986. Print.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Salem: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1850. Print.


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